This thesis presents a study to develop and explore the use of a computerized system that provided automated prompts to children with ASD during the completion of a self-care activity (handwashing). A Wizard-of-Oz experiment was implemented using an A-B experimental design. During the baseline phase (A) the child’s caregiver was asked to guide the child through handwashing, in the intervention phase (B) the system guided the child. The results showed that the system was not very successful to guide the child. He tended to get distracted very easily presenting off-task behaviour, which resulted in needing assistance from the caregiver. The data obtained showed that during the intervention phase the assistance from the caregiver consisted mostly of verbal instructions versus the hand over hand guidance observed during B phase. From the data analyses and reviewed literature some improvements and redesigns were suggested which could help develop a more automatic prompting system.

This thesis presents a study to develop and explore the use of a computerized system that provided automated prompts to children with ASD during the completion of a self-care activity (handwashing). A Wizard-of-Oz experiment was implemented using an A-B experimental design. During the baseline phase (A) the child’s caregiver was asked to guide the child through handwashing, in the intervention phase (B) the system guided the child. The results showed that the system was not very successful to guide the child. He tended to get distracted very easily presenting off-task behaviour, which resulted in needing assistance from the caregiver. The data obtained showed that during the intervention phase the assistance from the caregiver consisted mostly of verbal instructions versus the hand over hand guidance observed during B phase. From the data analyses and reviewed literature some improvements and redesigns were suggested which could help develop a more automatic prompting system.

Although robotics is well established as a research field, there has been relatively little work on human-robot collaboration. This type of collaboration is going to become an increasingly important issue as robots work ever more closely with humans. Clearly, there is a growing need for research on human-robot collaboration and communication between humans and robotic systems. Research into human-human communication can be used as a starting point in developing a robust human-robot collaboration system. Previous research into collaborative efforts with humans has shown that grounding, situational awareness, a common frame of reference and spatial referencing are vital in effective communication. Therefore, these items comprise a list of required attributes of an effective human-robot collaborative system. Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology for overlaying three-dimensional virtual graphics onto the user's view of the real world. It also allows for real time interaction with these virtual graphics, enabling a user to reach into the augmented world and manipulate it directly. The internal state of a robot and its intended actions can be displayed through the virtual imagery in the AR environment. Therefore, AR can bridge the divide between human and robotic systems and enable effective human-robot collaboration. This thesis describes the work involved in developing the Augmented Reality Human-Robot Collaboration (AR-HRC) System. It first garners design criteria for the system from a review of communication and collaboration in human-human interaction, the current state of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and related work in AR. A review of research in multimodal interfaces is then provided highlighting the benefits of using such an interface design. Therefore, an AR multimodal interface was developed to determine if this type of design improved performance over a single modality design. Indeed, the multimodal interface was found to improve performance, thereby providing the impetus to use a multimodal design approach for the AR-HRC system. The architectural design of the system is then presented. A user study conducted to determine what kind of interaction people would use when collaborating with a mobile robot is discussed and then the integration of a mobile robot is described. Finally, an evaluation of the AR-HRC system is presented.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of History, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [7], 53 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-53).

Det webbaserade Wizard of Oz-verktyget Ozlab är ett system som möjliggör skapande ochutförande av tester med interaktiva prototyper. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka ochutvärdera verktyget för att hitta brister och förändringsförslag. Denna uppsats utgör en kvalitativ studie och datainsamling har skett genom observation och intervju med Ozlab-användare. Utifrån analys av data som samlades in under observation och intervju togs flertalet förändringsförslag fram. För att kontrollera att förändringsförslagen som togs fram accepterades av andra Ozlab-användare skapades en enkät som några få utvalda användare med kunskap om Ozlab-metodiken fick svara på.  Resultatet från studien visar att Ozlab är ett webbverktyg som är accepterat av användarna men det behöver förbättras på några punkter. De punkter som är tydligast är att Ozlab behöver bättre stöd för mobila enheter, kortare svarstider vid test, dokumentation och hjälpavsnitt men även avhjälpa mindre funktionsmässiga problem.

Human behavior varies widely as does the design of spoken dialog systems (SDS). The search for predictors to match a user’s preference and efficiency for a specific dialog interface type in an SDS was the focus of this research. By using personality as described by the Five-Factor Method (FFM) and the Wizard of Oz technique for delivering three system initiatives of the SDS, participants interacted with each of the SDS initiatives in scheduling an airline flight. The three system initiatives were constructed as strict system, which did not allow the user control of the interaction; mixed system, which allowed the user some control of the interaction but with a system override; and user system, which allowed the user control of the interaction. In order to eliminate gender bias in using the FFM as the instrument, participants were matched in gender and age. Participants were 18 years old to 70 years old, passed a hearing test, had no disability that prohibited the use of the SDS, and were native English speakers. Participants completed an adult consent form, a 50-question personality assessment as described by the FFM, and the interaction with the SDS. Participants also completed a system preference indication form at the end of the interaction. Observations for efficiency were recorded on paper by the researcher. Although the findings did not show a definitive predictor for a SDS due to the small population sample, by using a multinomial regression approach to the statistical analysis, odds ratios of the data helped draw conclusions that support certain personality factors as important roles in a user’s preference and efficiency in choosing and using a SDS. This gives an area for future research. Also, the presumption that preference and efficiency always match was not supported by the results from two of the three systems. An additional area for future research was discovered in the gender data. Although not an initial part of the research, the data shows promise in predicting preference and efficiency for certain SDS. Future research is indicated.

In the last decades the average life expectancy of humans has increased significantly. There are more old people than ever before. At the same time there is a big staff shortage at nursing homes. A future study will examine the effect of introducing a socially intelligent robot called Furhat in such a home. In this work a so-called Wizard-of-Oz control system is developed which enables remote control of the normally autonomous Furhat. This control system will later be used in the future study. The Wizard-of-Oz control system is developed with the intention of reaching the lowest possible response time between the control system and Furhat to minimize the risk of unnatural conversation due to long wait times between actions. It is found that a response time at or above 500ms can have a clearly degrading effect on a conversation. By following code-standards with a focus on developing fast code an average response time in the range of 35-245ms depending on the action taken is reached.

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Qualidade em serviços tem sido assunto frequentemente estudado na literatura de marketing de serviços, uma vez que conhecer os fatores que fazem com que os clientes permaneçam adquirindo produtos ou consumindo serviços, permite à empresa direcionar os esforços de marketing, a fim de atingir suas expectativas, maximizando os resultados e promovendo a retenção. Assim sendo, o propósito central deste estudo foi identificar as dimensões e os atributos relacionados à qualidade percebida dos serviços prestados por uma escola de idiomas franqueada, a Wizard, em relação à satisfação dos seus clientes (alunos). Para tanto, após a revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema em estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, com caráter exploratório, utilizando-se entrevistas pessoais em profundidade com abordagem semi-estruturada. Em seguida, foi conduzida uma pesquisa quantitativa, com caráter conclusivo, por meio de um survey, utilizando-se as técnicas estatísticas como a análise fatorial, a regressão linear múltipla e a ANOVA. Através da análise fatorial foi possível obter 7 dimensões da qualidade de serviços: (i) professor; (ii) estrutura para ensino; (iii) atendimento; (iv) imagem; (v) material didático; (vi) relação custo versus benefício; e (vii) aparência do ambiente / equipamentos. Além disso, por meio da regressão linear múltipla foi possível explicar 56,9% da satisfação geral em função de apenas seis atributos. Os resultados encontrados possibilitaram a identificação das dimensões da qualidade percebida, assim como, o grau de satisfação dos clientes (alunos). / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-04T17:44:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Graciane Donadello.pdf: 2076808 bytes, checksum: 38874265643afad9d66288bff725e0de (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-04T17:44:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Graciane Donadello.pdf: 2076808 bytes, checksum: 38874265643afad9d66288bff725e0de (MD5) / Service quality has been a subject frequently studied in the service marketing literature, since knowing the factors that make customers remain purchasing products or consuming services. It allows companies to target marketing efforts to achieve their expectations, maximizing results and promoting customer retention. The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions and attributes related to perceived service quality provided by a franchised language school, Wizard, in relation to their customer satisfaction (the students). Therefore, after the literature review on the subject, an exploratory qualitative survey was conducted, through in-depth personal interviews with semi-structured approach. Next, a conclusive quantitative research was handled through a survey, using statistical techniques like factor analysis, multiple linear regression and ANOVA. Through the factor analysis it was possible to obtain 7 service quality dimensions: (i) teacher, (ii) learning framework, (iii) service, (iv) image, (v) didactic material, (vi) cost versus benefit relationship and; (vii) appearance of the environment / equipments. Furthermore, by the multiple linear regression, it was possible to explain 56.9% of the overall satisfaction on the basis of six attributes. Therefore, the obtained results allowed the identification of the perceived quality dimensions, as well as the students´ satisfaction degree.